The best brunch in San Francisco

It should come as no surprise that brunch at Foreign Cinema is a culinary romp that rivals the beloved restaurant's evening meals. On the seasonal, globally-influenced morning menu, find sweet bites like organic guava "pop tarts," savory shareables like Provencal brandade (blended salt cod, whipped potatoes, garlic, chilis, and toast), and hearty meals like the champagne truffle omelet or duck leg confit. Lines can be long at brunch, so make a reservation to secure your spot. If they can't fit you in, Laszlo next door serves the same menu.

The Presidio Social Club, once a military barrack, is at the heart of what is arguably San Francisco's most picturesque park. The unfussy restaurant is a modern, upscale diner with a long bar inside and a handful of tables on an outdoor patio. On the eclectic brunch menu, choose from Asian, Mexican, and American favorites like Mission-style chilaquiles, East West chicken noodle soup, and challah French toast. Brunch cocktails, including mango passion Coladas and Aperol spritzes, nicely complement whatever you're in the mood for.

A longtime SF staple, Brenda’s French Soul Food cultivates a New Orleans aesthetic both in decor and on the plate. But Brenda's is doing something far more interesting than the typical chicken and waffles. Here, there are beignets stuffed with crawfish and cheddar cheese, fried catfish benedict, grillades and grits in spicy creole gravy and butter pecan brioche french toast. Like mouthwatering meals, interminable waits are par for the course at this Tenderloin favorite.

This relatively new North Beach eatery (opened in 2021) offers the city's only brunch tasting menus. Diners can choose a la carte options that range from brunch classics, including steak and eggs, a double stack of buttermilk pancakes, and a grade school breakfast (french toast sticks with cinnamon-cardamom-sugar maple Rice Krispies ice cream on top), to the more adventurous like Kaluga caviar in a rolled omelet or artichokes and morels. You can also opt for the $75 Chef’s Adventure Menu, made up of five courses the chef is most excited about.

Weekend brunch at Outerlands has drawn people to this driftwood-paneled Outer Sunset spot for years. You can't go wrong with the restaurant's famed cast-iron baked dutch baby—served sweet with apples, walnuts, and yogurt or savory with Dungeness crab and sour cream. Many things on the menu are vegetarian-friendly, but carnivores can add fried slabs of bacon or pulled pork to dishes like the tostada ranchero.

Simply outfitted with gleaming reclaimed wood tables and floor-to-ceiling windows, Plow is a beautiful space to spend a morning. You’ll find standout dishes on both the sweet and savory ends of the spectrum: From the legendary lemon ricotta pancakes to the cold-smoked salmon toast and house-made biscuits topped in honey butter, scallions, and ham or sausage. (Nab a biscuit while you can—they’ve been known to run out on busy mornings.) Even lighter fare is memorable here, like the chia seed pudding served with almond milk, bananas, coconut, almonds, honey, and bee pollen. 

Beretta's weekend brunch is a welcome mix of Italian-influenced brunch fare (think pasta chilaquiles or prosciutto scrambles) and the restaurant's beloved Neapolitan-style pizzas. Outdoor seating is ample, as long as you get there around 11am to avoid a long wait. If you're stuck in the line, order a brunch beer or wine straight from the bar to pass the time.

SF's youthful dim sum spot is also one of the splashiest. Located at Ghirardelli Square, Palette Tea House focuses on fresh seafood and Instagram-worthy dumplings such as rainbow-colored soup dumplings, matcha lava bao filled with salted egg custard, black swan taro puffs, and squid ink dumplings filled with pork, jicama, and peanuts. The restaurant was founded by the same family that runs Koi Palace and Dragon Beaux. 

Our dim sum go-to for weekend brunch has shifted to the downtown favorite, Yank Sing. Though this Michelin Bib Gourmand winner is pricier than some of the city's other dim sum joints, their food doesn't disappoint. Yank Sing's Shanghai dumplings are iconic, as are their har gow (shrimp dumplings), but we also love the snow pea shoots and taro root dumplings.